ACTION Apartment Association

New Affordable ‘Arroyo’ Apartments Going Up on Lincoln Boulevard

04/28/2017 12:47 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Community Corporation of Santa Monica, the city’s lead nonprofit affordable housing provider, held a ceremony Tuesday to celebrate the organization’s newest project, The Arroyo.

The new building at 1626 Lincoln Blvd., which Community Corporation of Santa Monica’s Executive Director Tara Barauskas said would be completed in 12 to 18 months, will add 64 new affordable apartments to Downtown Santa Monica and will include on-site resident services, such as after-school homework assistance, health and wellness classes, and computer skills training.

SMa.r.t.- In Santa Monica… Size Matters

04/28/2017 12:40 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

It would seem that the current Downtown Specific Plan (DSP), as written, is trying to get 10 lbs. of developers’ dreams (EIR’s actual weight) into a 5 oz. box.

Santa Monica City Council Approves Concept for Lincoln Streetscape Re-Design

04/27/2017 2:20 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

LiNC includes the following notable changes:

- Street parking will be eliminated at peak traffic hours on the corridor to make way for municipal buses, which have their own marked lane.

- “Traffic calming” and safety measures that feature new landscaped center medians (or “pedestrian refuges”) will be installed.

- Improved crosswalks, flashing warning lights, new pedestrian lighting, curb-extensions and bulb-outs will be added.

- And 48 new trees will be planted.

A string of mostly five-story mixed-use apartment complexes are in the works; a few have already been approved, with others in the development pipeline.

PUBLIC HEARING VENUES FOR THE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY PLAN BEFORE THE SANTA MONICA PLANNING COMMISSION

04/27/2017 7:06 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

SUBJECT: Public Hearings will be held by the Planning Commission

See Dates/locations on pg. 11: http://backissues.smdp.com/042717.pdf

City Wins Legal Victory in Case Against Landlord Who Unlawfully Evicted Tenant

04/27/2017 6:47 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City of West Hollywood prevailed in court against West Hollywood landlord Anne Kihagi, who has been ordered to serve five days in Los Angeles County Jail and to pay the City’s attorney fees and costs. Kihagi was held in contempt of court on Tuesday, February 21, 2017, for violating a preliminary injunction that prohibited her from re-renting certain units at her property, located on N. Crescent Heights Boulevard.

Battle Pits Residents Against Big Hotels Slated for Downtown Santa Monica

04/25/2017 12:57 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

First in a series

April 25, 2017 -- Residents see the three big luxury hotels proposed for downtown Santa Monica as towering massive structures that will erase what is left the City's quaint beach-town feel.

Proponents and City officials, however, see them as sustainable economic engines that generate less traffic than housing or commercial development and will pump millions of dollars a year into the City's coffers.

The battle over the trio of hotels in the heart of downtown -- which total 1,264,635 square feet of new building within blocks of each other -- will enter a new phase Wednesday when the often-changed final blueprint for new downtown development goes before the Planning Commission ("Santa Monica Downtown Plan Seeks to Strike a Compromise, Officials Say, But Some Remain Skeptical," April 13, 2017).

DCP debate to begin on April 26

04/25/2017 9:29 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The first stop in the Downtown Community Plan (DCP) discussion tour will be the April 26 Planning Commission meeting for an introductory overview of the city’s latest zoning document.

As agendized, the discussion this week is framed as an overview of the final plan and adoption of some technical/administrative paperwork necessary to facilitate the larger process.

Future Santa Monica Ballot Could Feature Parks-Funding Tax Measure

04/24/2017 9:21 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

April 24, 2017 -- Santa Monica does not have enough parks, and there is not enough money in the budget to increase the number or to upgrade the existing ones.

That is the current state of affairs, according to Karen Ginsberg, Santa Monica’s director of community and cultural services.

What could alter this situation is a new tax, or “local funding measure,” as Ginsberg called it in a report that will be reviewed by the City Council at its meeting on Tuesday.

First Hearing on Santa Monica Downtown Community Plan Set for Wednesday

04/24/2017 9:19 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

April 24, 2017 -- Expect a big crowd in Santa Monica City Council Chambers on Wednesday.

That is when the Planning Commission will hold the first hearing on the Downtown Community Plan, a proposed document that sets the rules and vision for development in the area over the next 20 years.

The hearing, scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., could take so long that City staff has proposed the possibility of adding a second session Thursday night.

Who’s Running Our City? Less Than 18% of City Staff Live in Santa Monica

04/21/2017 9:05 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Managing an annual budget of $621.7 million this financial year, City of Santa Monica staff have a sizeable task in front of them, and a small army of employees is required to enable smooth operations. However, with significant planning decisions often a hot headline, and residents calling to take charge of their city, it’s pertinent to note that a vast majority of City staff live somewhere else.

According to the City, 2,705 people are employed by the City of Santa Monica. Only 479, or 17.7 percent, live here. Of the 19 City-employed executives who fall under the Executive Pay Plan (EPP), seven live in the city.